This dissertation addresses the problem of how public dissatisfaction is connected
to the conflict behavior of states with regard to causal paths, intervening
variables and conditions. The study uses previous theories on the relationship
to extract assumptions and concepts. After having formulated an explicit assumption
and explicated the key concepts, these properties are used for a deductive reconstruction
of the relationship between public dissatisfaction and the conflict behavior
of states. The theory reconstruction results in a new indirect relationship
between public dissatisfaction and the conflict behavior of states. It is also
found that the terms previously used to denote the relationships were no longer
applicable to this new relationship.

In a first limited attempt to falsify the reconstructed theory, it is applied
to the conflict behavior of states in intra-state conflicts over territory.
It is investigated whether levels of public dissatisfaction influence the conflict
behavior of states with regard to defensive conflict behavior. A hypothesis
is formulated for the following empirical puzzle: why does a country agree to
yield to a territory to a non-state actor a certain year, while it refused to
do so the preceding year? The temporal domain of the study covers 1947-90 while
the spatial domain is global. 96 cases are studied. The statistical results
support the hypothesis and thus indicate that public dissatisfaction has influenced
the defensive conflict behavior of states. However, it could only be inferred
that public dissatisfaction delayed the granting of independence for a year
or two.